William frank west



(No Model.) W. P. WEST.

AUTOMATIC RELIEF VALVE.

No. 500,645. Patented July 4, 1893.

Mrs STATES ATENT, @FFICE.

VILLIAM FRANK WEST, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CLEMENT GOULD, OFSAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC RELIEF-VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,645, dated July 4,1893.

Application filed February 4, 1893- I Serial No. 460,987. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FRANK WEST, of New York, in the county andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Relief-Valves; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,making a part of this specification.

This invention relates particularly to relief valves for gas enginesusing naphtha vapor or other gas under pressure for power and for fuel.In engines of this description as Well as steam engines, in order that arelief valve may be relied upon to blow within a reasonable margin ofthe pressure at which it is set, the stem of the valve must be free ofpacking of every description. On the other hand in engines of the classreferred to it is especially necessary to prevent as far as possible anyleakage whatever of the vapor or gas employed, on account of its highlyinflammable character. It is also desirable as far as possible toprevent access of the vapor or gas to the chamber within which is seatedthe spring which holds down the valve.

It is the object of this invention to produce a valve which shall insome degree answer these difierent requirements and which may be blownby hand at any desired pressure or held down when necessary, while atthe same time the valve itself under normal conditions, is entirelyindependent of the hand operating means.

The invention consists in the construction hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the drawings: Figure l is a vertical central section of the improvedvalve and its connections, and Fig. 2 is a detail elevation of theconnection between the two parts of the valve stem.

The valve-chamber A, with its gas inlet B, outlet 0 and valve-seat D, ispreferably formed in or as a part of the wall E of the pressurechamber.The outer end of the valve-chamber is closed by a plug F having anaperture f in which the stem G of the valve 11 has a snug sliding fit.The plug is formed with or may have connected thereto a shell I whichforms a spring-chamber wholly independent of the valve-chamber. Withinthe shell or chamber I the valve G is formed with a head 9 and a flangeg against which the spring J bears, the other end of the spring beingconfined by a screw-cap K which closes the chamber I and is perforatedaxially for the spindle L. The head g of the valve stem is recessedaxially as at g to receive the end of the spindle L and is slottedlongitudinally, as at g to receive a cross-pin Zwhich is fixed in thespindle L. The cap K is formed with a packing-box k and is provided witha gland is and a nut threaded upon its exterior. A check-11111; k mayalso be provided and the lever-base M maybe secured upon the cap K bythe said nuts. A link N is connected to the lever-base M and serves asthe fulcrum for the hand-lever O which is connected to the spindle L bythe spindle-cap o. The stem G of the valve having only a looseconnection with the spindle L, the valve is free to blow at the pressuredetermined by the tension of the spring J but may be held down toincrease the pressure by depressing the hand lever O or to be lifted toreduce the pressure at any time by lifting the, lever, the spindle Lhaving at all times sufficient friction in the packing-box to sustainthe weight of the spindle and lever when the latter is raised. Thevalve-chamber A having the inlet and outlet formed directly in its Wallsand being wholly independent of the spring-chamber and separatedtherefrom by the plug in which the valve-stem has a close, sliding fit,very little gas can at any time pass from one into the other. Thepacking of the spindle L still further retards the passage of gas intothe spring-chamber by preventing the escape of air therefrom and itabsolutely prevents the escape of gas While at the same time there is nopacking about the valve-stem to render the blowing of the valveuncertain.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of a valve-chamber having aninlet and outlet and a valve-seat, a plug for said chamber, a valve, avalve-stem having a close, sliding fit in an aperture through said plug,an independent chamber above said plug, a spring within said chamber topress upon said valve stem, a cap closing said chamber and having apacking-box,

too

a spindle passing through said packing-box and having a loose connectionwith the valvestem, whereby the latter is free to rise and fallindependently of the spindle, and means to raise or depress saidspindle,substantially as shown and described.

, 2. The combination of a; valve-chamber having an inlet and' outlet anda valve seat, a plug for said chamber, a valve, a valvestem having aclose, sliding fit in an aperture through said plug, an independentchamber above said plug, a head formed upon said valve stem within saidlast named chamber, said head being recessed axially and slottedlongitudinally, a spring to press upon said head, a cap with apacking-box to close said chamber, a spindle passing through saidpacking-box and entering the recess in said head with a cross-pinengaging the slot in said head, and means to raise or depress saidspindle, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM FRANK WEST. Witnesses:

A. N. J ESBERA, A. WIDDER.

